The present invention relates to an improved split rotary seal ring and to a method for making such a seal ring.
Fluids such as water, sewage, oil and a wide variety of organic and inorganic chemicals are typically pumped by sealed pumps under pressure for transport. Most high volume pumps in use today include a rotary drive shaft which passes into a pump housing and is dynamically sealed with respect to the housing by means of a rotary seal. Such a rotary seal is commonly provided by a highly polished, flat, annular surface of a seal seat, which is aligned with a flat, spring or hydraulically loaded mating seal ring. The seal ring defines a flat seal surface positioned to rotate against the annular surface of the seal seat.
Such seal surfaces are subject to wear, and seal rings are typically replaced periodically to avoid leaking. In the case of integral, one piece seal rings, replacement is typically accomplished by disconnecting a coupling between the pump and the rotating power source, removing the worn seal ring, and replacing it with a new seal ring. The new seal ring is positioned over the pump shaft by passing it through a gap between the motor shaft and the pump shaft where the pump coupling was removed or separated.
Occasionally however, the coupling between the pump and motor shafts is difficult to disconnect or it does not exist. In these cases, a one piece, integral seal ring cannot be replaced without disassembly of the pump or the motor, which may not be practical. Under these conditions, the seal ring must be split so that each half can be placed around the pump shaft and then reassembled to form the flat annular sealing surface.